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Throughout my Celiac Disease journey, I’ve realized that I have to think about more than just the food I am eating. I came to the conclusion that products such as lotions, hair products, makeup, soaps, hand sanitizer, lip balm, etc. all had the possibility of being digested or upsetting my skin. I know there are opposing views on this, but having gluten on my skin, near my eyes and mouth, is not something I am comfortable with.

Most recently, I went through the journey of finding gluten-free lipstick in particular. I’m not a big makeup girl and I definitely don’t wear lipstick often, but one day I thought, I’d like some red lipstick. So I picked up some CoverGirl lipstick and didn’t think more about it. Why would there be gluten in lipstick? I was so wrong!

After doing some research online, I came up with inconclusive, conflicting information. Which made me wonder, what are these companies hiding?

I contacted several of the larger cosmetic companies to find that not one of the companies I spoke with had a comprehensive gluten-free list. Two companies replied by saying that trace amounts of gluten in makeup will not make me react – which is true to an extent. But with a product such as lipstick, I’m not willing to take that chance.

After purchasing two lipsticks I never got to open, I discovered Red Apple Lipstick. I immediately fell in love with this company for multiple reasons:

All of their products are 100% gluten-free as well as paraben free, lead free, soy free and free of animal parts (that’s the world we live in)

Quality ingredients

Safe storage and testing procedures

I also experienced follow-up customer service that made me feel great about choosing this company.

As with anything in life, sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. And it feels good to find humor in even the most stressful of situations. Paying attention to how we deal with every day obstacles can make a tremendous impact on our happiness and success. Although Celiac Disease is obviously extremely serious and nothing to make light of, I sometimes find that making light of things and laughing about it is exactly what I need.

For those of us with Celiac Disease, we know that it is here to stay. There’s nothing anyone can do to change that. Sometimes I do get down about it. And sometimes a solid rant feels amazing. But most of the time, nothing beats the feeling after a good, long laugh. So with this post, I’d like to do just that:

One of my favorite places to stop on the web when having a rough GF day is the @gfreeblondie tumblr page called “When I Went Gluten Free.” I have never not laughed until I cried after reading her posts. My favorite thing about it is how relatable her topics are and how it makes me feel like I’m not alone. Here are a few screen shots of her posts:

And as we all know, Pinterest is always a gold mine. Search something along the lines of “gluten-free humor.” Here are a few screenshots of what I came up with today:

Laughing yet? If not, here’s a buzzfeed.com post I discovered today. It should do the trick.

Celiac Disease. The name surely doesn’t give anything away as to what the disease is all about. As Celiacs, we struggle daily when friends, family and coworkers ask even the simplest questions. How detailed do we really need to be? It becomes a small dilemma in our everyday lives.

Source: Scientific American

As difficult as it may sometimes feel, educating family and friends makes living gluten-free a lot easier in the long-term. If the people you surround yourself with understand your dietary needs, a more stress-free environment is created. You’ll hear less of those annoying comments and questions. “Can’t you just have a little?” is one that gets me every time.

This is how I like to answer a few common questions that family and friends ask about Celiac Disease:

What is Celiac Disease? Celiac Disease is hard to sum up in a sentence or two. I usually like to explain that it is a hereditary autoimmune disease. When I eat foods containing gluten, my body attacks it as it would an invader causing a range of awful symptoms.

What is gluten? This one is easy. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats.

What happens when you eat gluten? I really despise this question. While I want to tell people what really happens when I get glutened, I will normally generalize my response. I’ll say something along the lines of being in pain for hours and getting physically sick. I also like to add that the effects of getting glutened will stick with me for a few weeks. It depends on personal preference and who you are talking to as to how you might answer this question. The most important thing is that the seriousness of a reaction is relayed.

So what CAN you eat? Every Celiac has been asked this question, even by the most empathetic person. I sometimes get frustrated when people ask me this question. Depending on what type of mood I’m in, I’ll either make a joke out of it or explain that I do a lot of cooking at home. It is important for people to understand that we don’t just eat fruits and vegetables.

I’ve noticed that it takes awhile for friends and family to fully understand what Celiac Disease is and how frustrating a gluten-free diet can be. The most important thing is to be patient with people or you’ll start to become slightly crazy.